By IANS,
New Delhi: After its bilateral nuclear accords with the US, France and Russia, India will explore possibilities of civil nuclear cooperation with South Korea, a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), when the leaders of the two countries meet here Monday.
“Both sides are keen to cooperate in this area. We are aware of their capabilities in this area,” Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, told reporters here.
“But we will have to wait for directions from the political leadership first,” he added.
South Korea supported consensus for re-opening global civil nuclear trade with India in the NSG in September last year.
Civil nuclear cooperation will be among key issues that will be discussed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Monday.
A South Korean consortium won $20.4 billion contract to build four 1,400-MW civilian nuclear power units in the UAE, beating American and French companies for one of Middle East’s biggest energy deals.
India has signed civil nuclear accords with seven countries – the US, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Argentina and Mongolia.
India has finalised a nuclear deal with Canada, which is expected to be signed later this year.
Accompanied by ministers, parliamentarians and businessmen, Lee begins his four-day visit to India from Chennai Sunday.
The South Korean president will be the guest of honour at the Republic Day celebrations, an honour reserved for the leaders of those countries with which India enjoys special relationship.
Manmohan Singh and Lee will discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including intensification of economic and defence ties.
A clutch of agreements, including in areas of IT and peaceful uses of space technologies, are expected to be signed after the talks.
The focus of the visit will be on scaling up economic ties between India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and South Korea, an Asian economic giant known for iconic brands like Hyundai cars, Samsung and LG. Bilateral trade crossed $16 billion last year.
India has set a positive tone for the visit of the South Korean president by giving a crucial environment clearance to Seoul’s $12 billion Posco steel project in Orissa, the single largest FDI in the country.